New News
by mortal-paralight
Summary: Dimitri visits his family for the first time since the... change. Of course, Rose, Lissa, and others come too. Will Dimitri's family accept him? And what happens when Rose gets captured by a group of strigoi? first 13 chaps by brdi97 112 reviews
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

_**SPOILERS**_** ALERT!SPOILER ALERT FOR VAMPIRE ACADEMY!**

**This is just a small little scene kind of thing that I've had in my head all day about Dimitri going back to his family for a visit (with guards, of course. Including Rose and Lissa.) So it's not really some long huge awesome drawn out story, just a quickie. ;D Hope you enjoy, and review please! i NEED constructive criticism! Or a rlly sweet comment :) lol anyway, hope u like**

Sitting on the plane was long and, mostly, boring. The only one I talked to was Lissa, who mainly had her attention focused on Dimitri. It was still weird to watch their relationship, a friendly kind, and the way they looked at eachother. I mean, if someone brought me back from the undead, I'd probably be thankful, but I would get tired of having that puppy dog look on my face for so long, no matter how much they meant to me after saving me.

The other guards that went with us on this "trip" with Dimitri were here for protection. Not everyone was convinced that Dimitri was fine again, so they made a couple of guardians go with him and Lissa. I had to go as part of the protection pack too, seeing as Dimitri would of never let me come with him if it was his choice. He was still wary towards me, and it was awkward in public, with witnesses, when we talked (which was almost always an arguement now) and I had to keep reminding myself that I was with Adrian. What I hated most, though, was that we couldn't even be _friends_. No, Dimitri hated even that.

Walking off of the plane after arriving in Siberia, I went straight to Lissa's (and Dimitri's) side, making eye contact with the guard far behind me. This was one of the many routines we had as guardians, making sure to keep them safe. One guard stayed with the moroi (being Lissa and Dimitri, even though he's a dampir) while the other one stayed a little ways back to make sure there was no danger. This time it was a little different, though, since our main worry was supposed to be Dimitri himself. Turning to Lissa, I said, "So, have you ever been to Siberia before?" I already knew she hadn't, through the bond, but I couldn't stand the awkward silence.

"Um, no, but I've seen lots of pictures before. It's very beautiful." She waved her hand around for emphasis.

Liss was right. Even though we couldn't see all of the houses, due to the snow everywhere, you could still tell, underneath it all, that it was a pretty place.

While I was looking around us and trying to make out shapes of the houses, I could see a _very_ sharp, _very_ shiny, and _very_ rich-looking black limo rolling around the corner and stopping right before us. The driver got out, dressed in full black, and opened up the door in front of us. Apparently, whoever got us this limo to ride in wanted us to ride in style.

With the five of us- me, Dimitri, Lissa, and two other guardians- trying to cram into the back, every seat was necessery. The outside of the limo had looked awesome, but the inside was totally different. In fact, there were only seats in the back. No sunroof, no tv screen anywhere, nothing really cool and interesting inside the limo that they sometimes put into one.

Because there were only four seats, Derek, one of the guardians, went up front to sit by the driver, since I really didn't want to have to sit on anyone's lap or anything because of lack of a seat.

The trip was long and boring. Pretty much the same as the plane trip. This time nobody talked too much, just a "ooh!" and "ahhh!" here and there. With me squashed in between Lissa and the other guardian (I forgot his name) I really couldn't look out the window at the snow, so instead I tried thinking of what would happen at the Belikov's. The closer we got to the Belikov's home, the more... tense I got. I was scared to see Dimitri's family's reaction. After all, they'd had a _funeral _for him. They considered him dead. They knew he was a strigoi, and I was the one to tell them. Would they think I was lying? And... Viktoria. Did she still hate me? Was...was she pregnant? What would they think when they learned me and Dimitri were no longer... together? Would they be happy or sad? Would they even care?

Aside from being tense, I was excited. I wanted to see all of their faces again, their loving faces that looked so much like Dimitri's. I couldn't wait to hear stories that happened while I was gone. I also wanted them to meet Lissa, my best friend. I wondered if they'd be shocked that someone like me was best friends with her. We were different in many ways.

I suddenly wondered how Dimitri felt right now. He was about to see his family, who he not only hadn't seen in forever, but had also probably thought he'd never see again, being a strigoi. I felt sorry for him. For half his life it's been crappy - mostly because of his dad hurting his mom alot- but now, Dimitri was turned undead, never seen his family for at least 3 years and thought he would never get a chance to see them again, and now, finally, he gets that chance, but he's being under all sorts of guarding. I bet he never thoguht of seeing his family like _this_.

Eventually, the car rolled to a stop. We all stretched, trying not to hit eachother. The driver opened Lissa's door, and we all climbed out. When Dimitri got out, he paused for a second, staring at the house, remembering memories, and then started to walk up the front steps, stopping at the door. Me and Lissa followed him. Giving Lissa a quick glance, then, reluctantly, one at me, he turned and knocked on the door. We could all hear a bunch of russian words being spoken fast, and the faintest sound of sizzling and boiling. Probably cooking. I looked up at the sky, squinting past the falling snow, and it looked slightly dark. So they were cooking dinner.

After a couple more knocks, with nobody coming to the door, Dimitri turned the knob and stepped cautiously inside. When I came through, a good smell hit me: it smelled kind of like spaghetti. As me, Liss, Dimitri and the guards stepped into the house, the sounds, definately coming from the kitchen, got louder. Dimitri, looking thrown off for a second, cleared his throat, and called out, "Hello?" He had to say it louder a couple of times before they actually heard him. It felt like time had stopped. Eventually the noise coming from the other room stopped, too, except for the boiling sound coming from the oven.

We could all hear someone walking slowly, almost painfully, through the doorway. And Olena Belikov stopped and stared. The first person she saw was me, and she smiled. Then she noticed everyone else. And _then_ she saw Dimitri, and her smile faded, and her expression was pained. So much pain, in fact, that I averted my eyes, staring at the floor beneath me.

Then I heard her choke out something in russian (I _think_ she said something about God.) I looked up and saw Dimitri frown ever so slightly.

Olena switched to English to speak to me. "Rose, what's going on? H-how is he-" she couldn't finish. Her voice caught on a sob. And for some reason, she suddenly reminded me of a wounded deer about to be killed. And then I realized why. She was scared of Dimitri. She thought he was a strigoi still, and that he could hurt her. I couldn't blame her. I would too, if I didn't know the whole story.

"I can explain every-" I start, but don't finish, because some other family members have come to see what was wrong. Viktoria, Yeva, Sonya (who was no longer pregnant, and was very skinny) and Karolina all entered the room.

There were mixed reactions. When Viktoria saw me, she looked surprised, then pissed, but when she saw Dimitri, it all faded. And then, without warning, she tried to attack him. She was thinking he was strigoi, probably, and me and Derek had to pull her off of him. Yeva just stared at Dimitri, doing nothing. She looked almost... relieved. Not what I would have expected. Yeva might've seen him coming in a dream,though. Sonya instantly cried a little, sobs becoming greater the more she looked at him. And Karolina just looked at me, her eyes saying that she was also wanting to know an explanation, like there was no way that Dimitri was real. But I still saw the tears in her eyes. And then Paul, just ten years old, finally came through the small crowd, and looked right at Dimitri, like he'd never seen him before. And just before Paul could run and hug Dimitri, Karolina put her hand on his shoulder as a restraint. "Dont! He could be using a trick. He's a strigoi! I-It's not possible to..."

"Unless she was lying about him being strigoi." Viktoria said, putting venom into her words and looking at me with hate. I flinched and thought, _yep. She's still pissed._

I sighed. "I wasn't lying. About _anything._" I gave her a pointed look, knowing that she knew what I'm talking about.

"Then why is _he_ here?" Her voice cracked, betraying her.I could tell that she was trying to look fearless, and not scared of her older brother. I suddenly noticed that they were all kind of huddled together, and as far away from Dimitri as possible. Dimitri looked fine by that, but I could tell in his eyes that it hurt. Alot. I was probably the only one who noticed, though.

"I'll explain everything, if we can all just sit down...?"

**Okay, like I said, REALLY! short. I may add on to this if im ever bored someday, but right now I just wanted to kind of write how I think everyone would react to this kind of news and also let you guys kind of imagine what else would happen ;)... though I think they took it pretty calmly... oh well this was just quickly done and its not supposed to be perfect but hope you enjoyed :D PLEASE! review! would love to hear what you guys have to say!**

**EDIT: Working on fixing their reactions. Thanx for the reviews! they helped me with working on this chapter (not done yet)**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**So, since alot of people (not just on FF) have been asking me to continue this story, I was thinking ( :O) about going on with this story and finally decided to :). So here you go ;)! real quick: I wanted to thank everyone who's been giving me reviews! I really appreciate it, and i'm glad that you guys like it! Thanks 4 faving 2! **

With all of Dimitri's family sitting down, listening to me while I tried to explain to them about Dimitri, it somehow reminded me so much of when I'd told them that Dimitri was dead (er, kind of). Only this time, I was telling them how he was _alive. _Olena, Karolina, and Sonya began crying while I was talking. Viktoria tried keeping her face blank, but she'd occasionally crack. Yeva looked more tired than upset. And Paul, young, young Paul, looked like the only one who was calm. I figured it was because he didn't know about strigoi all that well yet and thought this kind of thing could happen alot. Every single one of them would look at Dimitri for a couple of seconds, then look away, like they thought they'd get in trouble if they didn't.

"And, so, while fighting, Lissa here," I made a quick hand sweeping gesture to where Lissa stood with her back against the wall, looking at the family with a sad expression," staked Dimitri with a stake. A special one, filled with spirit. And, well, it turned him back." I shrugged. I'd left out alot, but I knew not everyone, mainly Olena, who was shaking badly, could take it all in right now. So I left my story at that, hoping that they wouldn't push for details. I could barely believe all this myself, and I'd been there. I mean, I knew without a coubt that Dimitri was okay again, but this was so unreal. It was a fairytale dream come alive. Well, exept that it had a little twisted ending, seeing as Dimitri no longer wanted to be with me. So no happy ending.

No one spoke for a while. While I was watching Dimitri's family, I saw him from the corner of my eye. I hadn't really payed much attention to Dimitri while I was talking, and I now saw that his eyes were a little wet. He was looking straight ahead, looking out one of the windows at the other end of the room. The only time I'd seen Dimitri cry was when he'd first turned back from being awaken. I couldn't help but stare at him. He, of course, noticed me looking, and quickly wiped at his eyes. I still stared.

"What?" He whispered, voice thick.

I said nothing, and turned back to his family. Only Viktoria had really seen what just happened. I remembered that strigoi couldn't cry. And, seeing Dimitri with tears in his eyes, told her that he couldn't be a complete evil undead creature of the night. It'd probably take a_lot_ of convincing for the whole family to believe him.

After another five minutes of silence, I stood up.

"I... I know this is _huge,_" I said," and you might not believe us, but I _know _Dimitri's no longer strigoi." I wasn't really sure where I was going with this, but I felt like I needed to say _something. _I could see in their faces that they weren't buying this_._ I looked at Dimitri's mother. "Olena, deep, deep down, you have to know that there's no evil in your son anymore, right?" Her tears were drying up, and she just looked at me, slightly confused. I sighed. "If there's _any_ way to make him prove that he's not a strigoi, I'm sure Dimitri'll do it." I looked over at him. "_right?"_

Dimitri nodded slowly and finally spoke to his family. "I would," he began," I'd do _anything_ to prove it."

They all looked shocked that he'd spoken. Nobody said anything. Eventually Viktoria asked him something in Russian. He replied back, and I mentally made a note to self: try to learn Russian someday. They went on like that, only sometimes speaking in English. One time, when Viktoria was asking something (I was starting to wonder if she was only speaking in Russian was to annoy me), she pointed to me. Dimitri replied, and he sounded grim. Viktoria looked at me, then away. She stopped with the interrogation.

Dimitri switched back to English. "Any more questions?"

Paul spoke up. "Are you strong?" There was a memory that I was reminded of by his question, but couldn't remember what it was.

Dimitri smiled at him. "Yes, but not as strong as a strigoi."

Paul frowned. "Why aren't you evil?"

I tried not to laugh. "Because he's no longer a strigoi."

Paul started walking around Dimitri in slow circles, looking him over. He reminded me of a detective for some reason, trying to solve a puzzling mystery.

Finally Paul stopped, and touched his arm. Some of the Belikovs gasped a little, and Karolina gave a squeek. And then I remembered why this looked familiar. Back when Dimitri had first come back, he'd been questioned many times, and at one, there was a boy and his mother. The little boy had asked questions, and had even punched Dimitri in the knee. This was similar to that time.

"Your skin isn't cold or anything." Paul said. He turned to Karolina. " I don't think he's a strigoi." The other little boy had made the same conclusion, and I couldn't hide my smile.

I looked at the others and sighed. "The look on all of your faces says that you don't believe much of this."

"It's alot to take in," Olena said abentmindedly.

"Yeah," Viktoria said," I mean, it's not like this has _ever_ happened before." She threw another look at Dimitri. "I'll admit, he looks fine. But do we know for sure that he's okay fully?" Adrian and Christian had wondered the exact same thing once. They thought that Dimitri might crack and become undead again.

"Look," I said," I understand that you guys are probably not going to be okay with this right off. Totally understandable. But at least _consider_ the possibility. Dimitri's been fine for months, and he hasn't shown a bit of evilness, otherwise nobody would let him come here." I didn't say that the court had made guardians come with him, regardless. I didn't want to give them any reason to believe that he could hurt them.

Olena looked at me for a few seconds. "Your right-" I just _knew_ that someone was thinking 'Rose? Rose Hathaway? Being right?' "- and, well, as long as you guardians are here... then I guess it can't hurt to have him here right now." Sonya looked slightly shocked at her words. The others looked like they thought the same as Olena, that they'd be same with three other guardians on patrol. "So, um, a-are any of you hungry?"

**Ehh, I thought this chapter was okay, but it needs work D: Hope you guys liked :D thank you soooo much 4 your reviews!love every 1! please review and fav! hope to start another chapter soon :DDDDDDD just gotta find time for it, tho :O**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**Chapta 3!hope you enjoy! please fav, review and all that othr stuff!**

Later that night, when we'd all finally figured out a way to have everyone spend the night in the house tonight, with Dimitri on one of the couches in the living room, the two other guardians on the floor , and me and Lissa sharing a room, I started replaying tonight's awkward events at dinner in my head while I tried to sleep.

_Dimitri's family obviously wasn't too happy about Olena offering him a place at the table, but they didn't say anything about it. I could tell that they were trying to be open-minded, but their faces showed some disgust. I think Paul was the only one of his family that truly believed us. I felt horrible for Dimitri, and I could tell that he was attempting to look calm and normal, but he slipped slightly at times. Was I the only one who really noticed? Well, except for Lissa. She looked concerned for him, and when he saw her staring at him, he'd give her a reassuring smile, along with _

that_ look he always showed Lissa. Typical Dimitri, always trying to seem fine, to assure everyone that he was, even when he wasn't. It just showed how great he was. Of course, Adrian was kind of like that, too, he just showed it in different ways._

_After Olena and Viktoria found enough chairs for everyone, we all started getting the table ready, putting forks and spoons and plates out. Lissa and I began taking the plates and filling them with food, trying to get everything even with so many people eating. We finally got it all sorted out, and then began to eat. I was stuck between Lissa and Viktoria, who shot me a glare almost every time I stuck my fork into my spaghetti. I got the feeling that she was thinking about stabbing me with hers. I was pretty sure she wouldn't do that, though. Lissa, I noticed, hadn't eaten alot. Moroi didn't actually _have _to eat, as long as they had blood, and Lissa had fed not long ago. There was a place close by with feeders, so she would be okay on blood for a little while._

_It still worried me though._

_"You okay?" I muttered to her under my breath._

_She smiled back at me with what I thought was a bit too much peppy cheery enthusiasm. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"_

_I shrugged, but I knew that we were both thinking about her whole crazed by spirit problem._

_It was extrememly awkward at first, mostly because of the silence, because nobody wanted to say anything near Dimitri. Thankfully, Olena finally talked. Not to Dimitri, though. "So, Rose," she said, putting a hand over her mouth while she chewed, muffling her words a little," what have you been doing while you were gone?"_

_I quickly took a bite of spaghetti to buy myself a little extra time to think of my anwser. I really didn't want to get onto bad or awkward subjects, and everything I did usually had something to do with that. Except for... "Well, I finally graduated the academy." I smiled. It had been an amazingly strange experience for me. I'd had to go through a course of obstacles with a "moroi" that I had to protect, while I fought off "strigoi," and how good I did would determine whether or not I graduated. I remember everyone cheering for me after I'd finished, and there'd been a party afterward._

_"Really? That's wonderful!"Olena smiled back at me. _

_"How'd you do it?" Viktoria asked, her voice slightly sarcastic. I silently wondered if her family knew why she hated me now. If they did, then Viktoria should know the truth, that Rolan was the reason Sonya was pregnant. Unless she'd lied about it to Viktoria._

_I shrugged, refused to be angry with her attitude towards me. "Just kept focused, and remembered everything I was taught." I glanced at Dimitri quickly, then looked away. Actually, I went through the course so easily, I didn't think much at all. Just acted. The Rose Hathaway way._

_"Well." She went back to her food, stabbing it viciously with her fork. Sonya and Karolina stared at her,both looking slightly confused and shocked._

_"Um, so you two are friends, right?" Sonya asked, nodding at me and Liss. I think she just wanted to ask something to stop the tension in the room a little bit._

_"Best friends." We both said at the same time, looking at eachother and grinning. Lissa continued. "We've been best friends since we were in kindergarten. And now," her voice got a little quieter," we're bonded. It's pretty confusing sometimes, but I think it's kind of..." she glanced at me again," brought us closer. We have no secrets anymore. We're like sisters." She looked strangely sad for a second, but then was back to normal. I knew what she was thinking, even without our bond. She was thinking about me and Dimitri, and how blind she'd been about us._

_Everyone looked stunned by her words. I was a bit, too. I guess we were closer now, but I'd never given it a whole lot of thought. We were closer, even more like sisters, like she'd said. I don't think anyone expected her to be so open, to say something that deep for a common question._

_Until then, I hadn't noticed Dimitri glancing between me and Lissa, looking surprised. For reasons unknown, this made me mad. I ignored him, thinking that if he wanted me to ignore him all the time, then I would for once._

_It was quiet for a little longer. I was almost done with my plate, and as I was taking a sip from my drink, I saw Yeva and Olena glancing at me and Dimitri. Dimitri sat across from me, and I think he noticed them watching us, too. I had a feeling one of them were going to ask about 'us'. It was kind of obvious (to me, anyways) that we weren't like we'd been before. I felt my stomach clench tightly. _

_"So, Rose, how's everything _else_ been going with you lately?" Viktoria's voice was sarcastic, but I thought I could hear a tiny amount of guilt behind it. Huh. So maybe she wasn't as _'I don't care about Rose' _as she seemed. I knew what she was trying to get at, about me and Dimitri, because she'd obviously knew something about us was wrong, and she probably saw that it hurt me. And, I had to admit, I'd probably do the same if I was pissed at somebody, too._

_I was _so _not going to let her get to me, though. I sat up straighter in my chair and met her eyes. "What do you mean?" _

_"Oh, you know, besides guardian stuff," The guilt showed more. "Like, your, uh, social life. How's it been?" Her smile was mixed in with guilt and smugness. I'd never have thought Viktoria would be like this to me. She must _really_ not like me anymore._

'Don't let her get to you, don't let her get to you,'_ I thought over again and again. "Do you mean how popular I am?" I asked innocently, raising an eyebrow. By now everyone could feel the tension, and Lissa elbowed me lightly. She knew what Viktoria was trying to do, too. I could tell from the bond._

_"Well, no." She sighed. "Fine. I'll just say it. You," she pointed to me," and you," she pointed to Dimitri," are acting _pretty_ weird for two people in love. Why?"_

_No one spoke. We were all too shocked by what she said. I didn't think she'd come right out and say it so soon like that. My heart felt like it was ice, and was breaking into thousands of tiny little crystals, and I wasn't even sure why. What could Viktoria have said that would affect me like that?_

_I stood up, grabbing my plate, and said, very quietly, "because love fades," then, without looking at anybody (especially Dimitri), I walked as fast as I could, without actually running, and put my plate in the sink and headed upstairs._

Finally, I somehow found sleep. But, remembering that last part, I felt cold-as cold as my icy heart that had broken was- tears rolling slowly down my cheeks while I slept.

**Hope you liked! PLZ review! I need criticizing (eh, can't spell, hope i spelled that right) or just say that you like this story or sumthing if you want :D I really appreciate them all! thanx 4 faving and story alerts 2! hope 2 get next chapter up soon ;DDDD**

**edit: BAAAAAD NEWS D: not going 2 b able to upload next chapter for a while :'( so sorry! reason why I can't: have a virus on my computer :( (to b honest IDK why it's letting me on internet rite now, been trying 4 2 days, and NOW it lets me on, but still posting this just in case it kicks me off again.) but this virus thing is some type of anti-virus software crap that's trying 2 get me 2 buy it for "protection and saftey for your computer without any problems" when really, it's the AVS that's causing me problems D: can't get on ANYTHING! won't even let me get on MS paint (?) and it's making me very mad :( but SOO sorry, IDK when i'll be able 2 finish this story (my dad's gonna get me a laptop soon, but it might take some time) DD:**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**YAY! got a new comp finally :D and I can now finish writing this story! Sorry it took so long to start this back up again, just couldn't get that virus off my other computer :C Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

As the next few days passed, I rarely ever saw Dimitri. He ran lots of erands for Olena, and when he wasn't with a family member ~usually just Olena, Viktoria, or Yeva, since the others always "had something to do" when he came into a room~ he'd be reading. From the first time I'd met him, I knew Dimitri was fascinated with the old west. He wore a duster (those weird coats that cowboys occasionally wear) all the time, read Western novels, and I'd sometimes call him Comrade. The only times I ever really saw him was when Olena had wanted to tell me something, and asked Dimitri to tell me for her. And he would hardly look at me when he told me something.

If I could've taken my words back the other night, I wouldn't of done it. I was angry at Dimitri for how much he'd hurt me with those words. I still loved him, yes, I just never realized how much hurt I'd had over love. _This sucks, _I thought.

When I went downstairs to look for something to eat for a quick dinner, I almost smacked right into Yeva.

I gasped in surprise. "Oh. Just you."

She just gave me this look. Wow, is she creepy. If she ever turned out to be a real witch, it wouldn't surprise me.

She had this weird vibe about her, like she was just figuring out something, but not sure how to ask me in case she was wrong. Weird, because I was sure she'd have no problem insulting me about something. I waited a couple of seconds to see if she would ask me whatever question floating in her crazy head.

But Yeva shuffled on past me, muttering in Russian.

While I was going through different choices for a sandwhich the Belikovs had in their kitchen, trying to find something I'd like, I got a weird feeling, like somebody was watching me from behind.I quickly turned, my senses on alert, but there was no one else in the room. Frowning, I stood there for a second, just waiting for someone to jump out. Then I walked out into the living room.

Olena and Sonya were there, talking to eachother quietly. And, oh god, Dimitri was there, reading a western novel. It was one with a fancy cover and looked really old. Seeing him there, I could just imagine him as a little kid, sitting in that same seat years ago trying to read that book. The image broke my heart.

Probably sensing my eyes on him, Dimitri looked up. It was the first time in days that he auctually looked me in the eye. And he smiled. Not a real one, just a small one that was gone as quick as it came. I blinked several times. Then I realized something that I should have earlier.I was just too sleepy to really think about much.

"Where's Lissa? Isn't she usually with you?" I asked Dimitri.

"She said she wanted to take a walk, look around the neighborhood. Derek went with her."

"Oh." Huh.

He went back to reading his book. I turned and went back into the kitchen and pulled out a jar at random, wondering why she hadn't asked me to come with her or anything. I had a bad feeling about Lissa's walk for some reason, but I didn't know why. I didn't get anything through the bond, so I hoped that my feeling was just screwed up and wrong.

The sense of someone watching me was still there, though, and it freaked me out.

"That's it," I muttered, pulling out a kitchen knife from a drawer. I walked around the room slowly, feeling stupid as crap. I looked out the windows of the little kitchen, knife at my side, when Viktoria came into the room.

"What are you _doing?"_ I whirled around, knife raised, until Viktoria started laughing her butt off. Jerk.

"I just thought I saw something," I mumbled, throwing the knife down and pushing past her, taking my sandwich with me.

Later that night, I sat in the living room with most of the Belikovs. We were just talking, catching up with eachother while I'd been gone. Dimitri actually joined us, too. He sat beside Olena, who looked just a little bit uncomfortable, but didn't say anything.

"And so that's why I'll never, _ever_ go skiing drunk again," Karolina finished, laughing. We all joined in. I felt so good here in this little get-together. I can't remember the last time I felt like this. I felt like a little girl on Christmas morning, getting ready to open her presents. When this night ended, I'd be up in my room, replaying this moment over and over again.

"I should go check on Paul," Olena said, standing up. "I'll be right back."

"I'll go with you," Yeva stood up, too.

Olena nodded and they both left the room.

Conversation struck up again, though, and we were all having a great time. I was, anyway, until I realized that Lissa wasn't back.

"Where is lissa?" I asked suddenly, interrupting what Dimitri was saying. "She should be back by now."

Dimitri frowned, not at me, just thinking. "She should. Maybe we should go look for her...?"

I would've _loved _having him go with me to look for her, and then maybe we'd get lost and have to stay together until rescue came forever later. But too bad I knew he didn't want that anymore, and for once, I was willing to put his wants before mine. "No, it's okay, I can go by myself."

I went upstairs to get my jacket. When I was in my room, I had that sense of someone watching me again. Ugh. It felt really creepy. I ignored it, though, and headed downstairs.

Would of, if I hadn't heard Olena and Yeva talking in another room.

"...sure that's what you saw?" That was Olena.

"Yes." Yeva. "She still loves him, that's for sure. And...he still cares for her. But I didn't see whether they were happy together." My heart started racing. No names had been said yet, but I already knew they were talking about me and Dimitri.

"So... you're not sure whether Rose and Dimitri will really be together?" Olena sounded worried.

"It's a possibility. But he...Dimitri's heart has to heal. What happened with him won't just fade away, it'll either grow worse, and he'll become... what he was again, or he'll get better and become himself again." Olena sighed. "We'll just wait and see."

I covered my mouth to hide my gasp. Holy freaking crap! Yeva had a vision? About me and Dimitri? And... he cares for me? And he could still become... strigoi?

_Oh, god. Okay. Big load of info, but no time to deal with it. Wait till later. Now it's time for lissa. _I thought._ Now I have to find Lissa._

The air was cold, but not as bad as when we'd first arrived. It had even stopped snowing. When I stepped out of the house, I turned and starting walking right. I was sure Lissa had gone this way. I don't know how, but I did. About 15 minutes later, I could see Lissa, a little ways off the road. I started walking over to her, and stopped. Something was wrong. I could feel her fear through the bond. Feeling like a ninja, I made my way over towards her without being seen, hiding behind a tree. She knelt down and was holding something at her side.

It was at that moment that I realized Derek wasn't with her. Derek, who loved his job and stayed with his assigned moroi no matter what.

Oh, crap. Something definately wasn't right.

I ran to Lissa as fast as I could.

She looked surprised when she saw me, then relief. Her fear was dissolving.

"Liss! Are you okay?"Closer up, I could tell that she was crying.

"Oh, god, Rose, they took him! They took Derek!" She sobbed."They're coming back! Oh, Rose it was horrible!" She shifted, and I saw something sticking in her leg that definately hadn't been there the last time I saw her. Oh, god.

It was a knife.

Somebody'd stabbed her in the leg.

"What the h-" I started.

I was rudely interrupted by a horrible shrieking. I was nauseous. Oh. _Oh._ Liss's words suddenly made perfect sense. I looked up.

We were surrounded by six strigoi.

Oh _crap._

**Hope you enjoyed! thanx for reviews, faving, everything :D glad I can start working on this story again! and again soorrrry for taking so long 2 write this (read the end of previous chapter to kno why I couldn't work on this story)**

**EDIT: Thnaks to Val-n-Tina for letting me kno about my mistake in having Strigoi in daylight (I would have completely missed it otherwise)**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

**YESS! Two chapters in ONE day (^^) ahah goal ACHIEVED! (just wait till I get like three on one day...)Thank you for reviews!~ Seriously.u guys rock. sorry if my chapters come slowly, school starts Monday :C I'll try to write often tho. Hope ya enjoy!**

Oh _man_ this wasn't good.

I quickly thought through possibilities to get rid of the six strigoi advancing on me and Lissa. I didn't have a stake though, damnit, so this might be a bit harder. We could run, but Lissa wasn't a great runner and her leg probably couldn't move very great, anyway. Hand-to-hand combat looked best right now.

It took less than a second to think all of this, so when the first strigoi started to grab me, I was already on my feet and ready. I jabbed him~ or her, I couldn't tell and didn't care~ in the gut with my curled fist and kicked it's feet out from under him (or her.) _It_ went down, and two more came. I punched and kicked and bit and grabbed for god knows how long.

Eventually I began to grow weak, though. I knew they were here for Lissa, and it snapped something into me, making everything clear through all the blood.

"Lissa! Run!"I schreeched at her. When she just looked at me, full of overwhelming fear, I repeated it.

"But, Rose-"

_"Go! Go get Dimi-"_ I got punched in the face and couldn't finish.

Lissa gave me an agonized look, then ran towards to house the best she could with a knife sticking out of her. I felt her pain with every step. It would take her at least 15 minutes to get there, and I'd undoubtfully be done for, but at least I did my job. Protected her from these strigoi. I expected at least one of these creatures to go after her. I mean, really, she's a moroi. They love her kind's blood. Sure, they wouldn't get too picky and could have mine instead just fine, but Moroi blood makes a strigoi even stronger. They all looked a little weaker since we'd started fighting. So it surprised me when they only gave Lissa a longing glance as she ran/hopped/walked, and eyes had gone straight back to me.

It was only minutes later that the group of strigoi overtook me. One had finally gotten onto my back, hands around my throat, and I thought, _this is it._ But he didn't snap my neck. I was so shocked that I stopped for at least a second. My big mistake. Every one of the disgusting things was on me then, tackling me to the ground easily.

I couldn't see anything at all. Ugh, the smell was beyond horrible. Imagine having six dumpsters full of smelly crap piled on top of you.

I wasn't even aware of the smell too much, though. I was too busy wondering why I was alive. They should of been sucking me dry right now. There were only two reasons to keep me alive, and neither was good.

option 1: Torturing me for info.

option 2: wanting to turn me Strigoi.

Option 2 seemed unlikely since they could change me out here in the street just as easily as come cave or dugout. Option 1 was... well, scary. Horrible. I didn't know what information they may want, but no matter what I wouldn't give it to them.

"Finally got you." One hissed in my ear, and I shuddered at the sound.

"What, you wanna kill me in paradise? Up in some cave of yours that smells half as bad as you do? Uh, no thanks." I spat back, making him growl.

"We're not going to kill you yet, you idiotic girl." A different one replied.

Torture it was.

"Why?" I asked anyway, my throat making it sound like a squeak. Damn. I wanted to sound fierce, fearless. Blew that, though.

"Why? For a hostage to get Dimitri Belikov's attention, of course." The man smiled, along with another man and a woman. They got off of me and grabbed my wrists behind my back in an unbreakable grip. We started walking, well, walking and being pushed, towards a dirt road on the side of the main road.

I wanted to hurl all over them.

It made sense now. They didn't go for Lissa because they didn't need her. These creatures must know that Dimitri used to love me. So that's what was keeping me alive. They wanted Dimitri to come to wherever I was going to be held, like bait, probably. But why would they want Dimitri? Because he was a badass guardian? No, they have to want him for something else. I couldn't ask, though, because I was sure they wouldn't anwser. You never tell the enemy hostage everything unless your seriously stupid.

Suddenly the person who had been pushing me towards the dirt road stopped.

"We can't let her see!" He (I think) screeched out.

I heard a quiet sigh. "Okay. Give me something hard." The woman from before demanded. Someone handed her something, but I couldn't tell what it was with all of them behind me.

I think I tensed right before I felt a hard thunk on my head and everything went completely black.

**Hope you liked :) thanks 4 reviews guys! they're so osm, and I love getting them! *blushes* i really don't deserve the amazing comments (I'll take them anyway, tho ^^) Yea, plz review, fav, and all that stuff **

**LITTLE NOTE THING: Has anyone read Night World series by L.J Smith? I got it today but haven't read it. Just wondering if it's good or not (I read the back and it sound kinda good) So if you've read it and got a summary of it or if you liked it or not, please tell :) thanx**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**hope you enjoy! plz fav, review! Sigh, this may be the last chapter from me for a while. D: school started 2day and classes are lots harder than last year...sorry if I take 4ever 2 upload a chappy.**

**Disclaimer: Richelle Mead owns VA I do believe **

_"There's nothing worse than waiting and not knowing what'll happen to you. Your own imagination can be crueler than any captor."_

These words ran through my head over and over. They were the same words that had been told to me the_ first_ time I was kidnapped. Why was it always _me_ to get kidnapped? I mean, sure I'm sarcastic, don't respect authority, backtalk everyone, but I'm also good. Usually. Kind of. Doesn't that count for _anything?_ Like brownie points...

Oh, god, what am I saying? Come on, think Rose. Use the Rose Hathaway way to get out of this. I looked around in the dark, not even sure what was around me. I felt around me with my fingers, not making a sound, just in case anyone, like a guard, was near me so that they wouldn't know that I was awake. The ground was cool, with a little wall behind me. I couldn't feel anything else around me except for the ground and that wall. I was assuming that I was in a cave, in the very back.

Okay, so now I kinda know my surroundings. Now what? I didn't have any kind of restraints on my ankles or anything, so there must be a guard somewhere. I strained to listen for anything, but could only hear my breathing. They're probably standing really still or something. No way would these creeps leave me alone. Were they that stupid? It was possible, I guess.

Only one way to find out.

I got up slowly, trying not to make a noise.

And of course I hit the ceiling of the cave at that moment, because fate hates me.

I covered my mouth with my hand, trying to smother my surprised squeal, while sandy dust fell down around me.

And then I could hear feet making their way towards me. An ice cold hand grabbed my wrist, and I instantly jerked it back. And the hand came again, this time slapping me. Ow, damn, that hurt. I tried to hit the dark figure. It's hard to kit somebody you can barely see and can move faster then you. In a couple seconds, the strigoi hard me in a headlock, and was taking me away from the wall. Eventually I could see a light. Haha, I could see the light. Anyway, The girl hold me was stopping in front of some sort of door ( I was right about being in the back of a cave.) It was pretty much a tunnel with a sheet over it, and the girl pulled the 'door' back and pushed me inside.

"Do you know why you're here, Little girl?" A voice from the darkness asked. He paused, as if expecting me to anwser. "It's to be tortured." A disgusting sound came out from the tunnel. I was pretty sure it was supposed to be a laugh.

"Ok, firstly, I'm not a 'little girl'." I said angrily, not caring that he could easily snap me like a pretty twig."Secondly, I already knew that was why I'm here. Do you always point out the obvious to everyone?" I shook my head. "Sad."

That got me a growl from the strigoi. It was almost fun to talk like a smartass to an evil undead creature of the night.I wanted to laugh, but couldn't, because there wer now two strigoi behind me (I could tell from the nausea). I quickly turned, and could just barely see that one guy had some sort of cloth in his hand. The othe guy quickly put my hands behind my back while the other one put the cloth around my eyes. I tried to fight them, but I hadn't really realized how weak I was. I hadn't had food or water in at least a couple days.

"Now. Sit."

"Where? I can't exactly see anything."

The strigoi that had called me a little girl sighed. "Put the fold to her mouth, not her eyes. I like her better when she doesn't talk." The blindfold was push to my mouth and pulled tighter. "It's not like she can see in this darkness anyway."

Damnit, this was _really_ bad. I had no weapon, couldn't see my enemies in the dark, was weak, and, most important, I had a cloth over my mouth so I couldn't talk. My talking could get me out of trouble sometimes. This was so much like one of those kidnapping movies, except the kidnappers weren't superstrong, and the kidnappee wasn't Rose Hathaway. I could get myself out of this, I just needed time and to think everything through and plot it all out, like all the other kidnappees do. Of course, usually their bright ideas don't work, they just get saved from some amazing person...

Just think through and plot. I don't need anyone to save me. I can work it all out if I just think and plot.

Yeah, that'll work.

**Hope you guys liked it :D Okay, just wanna say that I'm sorry this was kinda...rushed (and short DD:). I wanted to take this slower, but with school and everything, I knew I couldn't get this chap done until later... so hopefully when I have time off I can redo this chapter, but 4 now, very sorry, my chapters MIGHT be rushed (depends on how much time I've got :( )**

**Please, review, fav, ummmmm... anything else ^^really appreciate the comments, too, you guys rock :DD I've responded to ALL reviews so far, and I'll keep trying to still!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

**Hope you guys enjoy :DDD really liked writing this chappy for some reason... probably bcuz I haven't been writing in a while, and it's very fun ^^ sorry about my failure in uploading chapters (stupid school)... next time I write a story, I'll writ like 5 before hand ^^...um, yeah, lol enjoy!**

So apparently the guy (I'll call him Stevie for now, since I don't really know what his real name is right now) that wanted to talk to me was kind of the guy in charge. Well, kudos **(sorry, can't spell worth a flipper)** to stevie. But him being 'The Man' didn't really help my situation too much. As it turns out, Stevie just wanted information from me, which I already expected. But it wasn't about what I'd thought. It was info about my mom.

"So," he said as I got pushed into a seat. "Why don't we just skip all the good cop bad cop crap." It sounded like Stevie was smiling." You already know which one I am. Look, all I want to know about is your mom." He paused, clearing his throat. "She's got something I desperately need. I can't really tell you, because, in an emergency, like, oh, you escaping back to your mother, she wont know what I'm looking for." I snorted, because he sounded really proud of himself for thinking this through. I could feel his glare, trying to slice me in half. "And like I said, I just want some info. You anwser my questions, and you don't get hurt."

"Oh, no, wait. Let me guess! If I don't..." I tapped my chin with one finger," then.. oh. ooh! I DO get hurt! Am I right?"

No anwser.

Suddenly, like a wave, pain came into my brain, and I screamed. I couldn't help it. This was like nothing I'd ever felt before. Nobody was touching me (I don't think anyway, because the only thing I could feel was my brain splattering) and I wasn't sure how they were hurting me. It had to have at least been a minute of my non-stop screaming going through the tunnels and echoing back at me.

Thank god, eventually the pain stopped. I sagged in my seat, unable to do anything. I didn't feel like myself at all. I wasn't acting like myself. I could of been out of here by now if I were like myself. I would've kicked all these guys asses, and then run, back to Lissa, back to Dimitri, and Adrian. I missed everyone back home, and everyone at the Belikov household. I wanted to cry, and I wasn't even sure why. I held them inside of course, but they stayed hiding behind my eyes, trying to break through the dam.

"Now, let's try this again," Stevie said calmly, like nothing happened, like I hadn't been... whatever happened to me. Then again, he probably did stuff like this all the time. "Are you ready for your first question?"

I couldn't help it. The dam broke, and my tears leaked through. I didn't anwser him, but he took the silence as a yes. I heard his steps coming towards me. I didn't think, just sat there. So unlike me. I... I was giving up. I'd been thinking of something to do, but got squat. My only hope was Dimitri, and I doubted he even knew where I was, unless he had a super cool strigoi tracker thingy hid up his sleeve. Well, cowboy duster sleeve.

Stevie stopped in front of me. "Okay," he whispered, very close to my face," we'll start off with the simple stuff. Like, where is your mom?"

"What kind of question is that? I'm pretty sure my mom has a handbook on handling stalkers, sir, and I don't feel like you-" The unbearable pain came again, and again I screamed and cried once again. He waited until the pain receded and I stopped screaming before Stevie spoke again.

He sighed. "Now look,-" He was interrupted by the sound of feet running in our direction. Everyone in the room (including two other strigoi, who I'd forgotten about while screaming) turned to the doorway, where there was a faint light wobbling up and down in time with the running feet. I tried to turn in my seat, more hopeful than ever. Dimitri had come!

I expected to see a tall broad shouldered, pissed off Russian guy (probably in a duster), but instead I saw a tall blonde-haired green-eyed Moroi, and my heart broke when I put these things together.

Dimitri hadn't come.

Lissa had.

Alone. There weren't any more footsteps.

**Hope you all enjoyed :) plz review! fav! AA! and that other stuuf ^^ thanx for review you guys :DD I'm super sorry for late updates D: school sucks :( and I hateee math so much D: (not only the subject, teacher too...she's really strict AND she makes us show our work& if 1 thing is messed up, whole thing is wrong even if u got right anwser, and I don't get half the stuff she teaches ~says 1 thing, then says whole diff thing the next day~)...eheh ^^ sorry, my problem not ur guyses) but yeah please review :3**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

**Thanks so much for review and favs and SAs! this morning, when I got on the computer after getting home from the library, and I saw all the emails I got (over 50...OVER 50! all in a couple hours!) and I really said out loud: HOLY CRAP! BRITT DO YOU SEE THIS? (Brittany ~britt~ is my sister BTW) and I was so happy! so thanx :DD Okay, onto the story ^^ sorry, I babble**

Lissa. _Lissa. _Lissa had come here... without Dimitri. I felt like screaming over and over. Did he hate me that much? Why? Because of himself, for all the things he'd done to me?God, how _stupid._

I stopped. If Lissa was here in danger, I should be worrying about her, not...him. Why did she come alone? Was Liss blind or something? Didn't she see the obvious sign outside that said DANGER FOR IDIOTIC PEOPLE, DO NOT ENTER? I mean really, I wasn't worth her life. No matter what I do, what I did in the past could never be made up for. Lissa... Lissa was good. She was 10 times better than me, plus 5 million. She didn't deserve this. So why'd she come?

"Liss," I choked out.

She only gave me a heartbroken smile in return. I could feel fear through the bond.

_Why? _I begged.

_Because it's my choice, Rose, _lissa responded quietly. _Your choices are for you, you only. I want to choose, too. You can live. Kill more Strigoi, rid the whole world of them. I can only get in your way. It makes sense, Rose._

I didn't get what she meant. Live through this? We'll both die. She knows that. No way... No. No, not that. I looked straight into Lissa's green eyes, seeing the anwser to my question.

Lissa was going to ask them to take her instead of me. A trade. My life for hers.

I suddenly shrieked in outright rage and thrashed in my seat. I didn't care how, but I was going to rip all these strigoi up one by one. No way in hell were they hurting Liss. Ever.

I couldn't get out of the restraint, but it didn't matter anyway. The stupid freaking pain was coming, only making my scream more, but in pain this time. Dammit! Hodw were they doing that?

"Stop!" Lissa cried, stepping forward.

"No! Liss!" I screamed back to her.

The pain receded, and I fell forward. Thank god for the restraints on my wrists, or I would've done a face plant.

The Strigoi, who'd all been cringing a little from the flashlight Lissa was holding, all straightened. Then Stevie cocked his head. "What brings you here, girl?" Oh, so _she's_ girl, but I'm little girl? "You're a Moroi, I can tell from your blood," Liss paled, "so why come forth to death?"

"I want to trade places with Rose." Surprisingly, Lissa's voice stayed steady. Her words made me want to scream, but it'd just bring me more pain than she was already giving. "She goes free. And you get me."

Stevie looked taken aback. "But... why?" He looked between us. "You... you'd give up your blood for her?" Lissa nodded, and I cried out a little, giving me a shock. "Interesting." He stared at me. "Do you want this arrangement?" What a dumb question.

"No! No, don't let her-" I started to shriek.

"Enough." Stevie gave me a cold glare. "It shall be arranged." He snapped his fingers, and my wrist restraints fell off. I lunged at him before pain, blinding pain, came through and I fainted.

How embarrasing! Fainting in front of the enemy. That was my first thought, before my mind slowly caught up. Where was I? I tried to open my eyes, and they obeyed sluggishly. I stared up at the ceiling and blinked. I was in my room at the Belikov's house. The one I shared with Liss. The-

Oh god. Oh,no, no, no, no.

Those strigoi were doing god knows what to her. Torturing her? Killing her? Both?

I had to help her _right now._ It doesn't matter how. I struggled to sit up, and stopped when I realized Viktoria was sitting next to me. Staring at me in a sad mix of pity.

"Uh, hi." I croaked out.

"Hi." Shockingly, her voice didn't have venom in it. She didn't even look mad." Look, Rose, I just wanted to... to thank you. For everything you've ever done for me."

Whoa.

"Why are you saying this now?" I asked quietly, trying to clear my voice.

"Because..."she sighed." Because you were right. About Rolan **(PLEASE TELL ME IF I SPELLED THAT WRONG, OR IF IT'S COMPLETELY WRONG NAME XD**), I mean. After, after Karoline had her baby, and we realized who the dad was... I felt bad for blowing up on you." I tred to tell her she didn't have to tell me this, but she just kept on going. " And when you came back here, I felt envious. Rolan wanted you more then me. I know it's stupid, and I shouldn't of gotten mad. I'm... I'm so sorry about the dinner table thing, and about your friend..." She choked on a sob. "I know what it's like to lose someone you love. I felt the same with Dimka. But it's okay, Rose." And she hugged me.

I was totally freaking shocked. She just told me so much. And she couldn't be mad at me anymore, not if she was hugging me now. Hugs meant kindness and friendship. I hugged her back tighly.

There was a knock on the door, and we both looked at the door. I'm pretty sure I was the only one who's heart stopped, though. It was Dimitri. The only thing I could think was "Why? Why let her go alone?"

But I just looked at him, while he looked back at me. His eyes looked dead. He didn't have anyone to share that puppy dog look with anymore, I realized. If Lissa was dead, then what would happen to Dimitri? Would he die, too? Or just become strigoi again?

"Rose," He sounded like he was gagging, but I could understand him," Rose, what happened?"

That question somehow made me angrier then ever.

"Which what are you talking about? The part where I was getting tortured? Oh, probably not that, because you no longer care for me, "He opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off," or maybe you mean the part where Lissa was taken in my place. Or how about where you failed to show up and help! What happened to _you?_ You used to be good! Now, Lissa's gone, and you didn't help her! I know you hate me, and I know you like Liss tons better , so if you didn't save me, why not save her?"

I kept going on, just screaming until my head throbbed badly, and then I glared at him. Somewhere between my rant, Viktoria escaped to the door. Smart girl. So it was just me and him. Me in a murderous rage, and him in a calm manor, just letting me trash talk him and scream at him. The only time he showed emotion was when I tried to claw him, and he'd pulled my wrists outward. He looked so concerned, but I could care less right then.

"Why don't you just say it? Say you hate me! Say you hate me and Liss, and that you're too much of a coward to do anything but-"

"Rose." I stopped. Finally, he'd said something. "I don't hate you. I hate myself. I was a monster, Rose. I don't like being around you, because I can't even imagine a world without you. It'd be my own personal hell. If I ever hurt you..." He shook his head. "I could never live with myself."

"But you already have." I spat. "You say this stuff, but you don't mean it! If you did... you'd forget about the danger to be with me." I felt the tears coming, and I knew he saw them.

"I do, Roza-" He started.

"Prove it." I said angrily, knowing he'd never try to prove that. He's repulsed when our hands accidently bump eachothers. "Kiss me, and I'll consider the possibil-" And Dimitri kissed me.

I was so surprised, that I stood like a stone for a second. Then I responded to his touch, which was everywhere, like gasoline for a fire. My favorite fire. Hid lips were so warm, which was different from the last time we'd kissed. Last time he was undead.

I'm not really sure how long this lasted. Long enough to leave both of us breathless when we broke away.

"I _do _love you, Roza." Dimitri breathed. "So much. But we shouldn't be together. You're better off with Adrian." He smiled sadly. I had forgotten all about Adrian, and I now felt so guilty. It was like cheating, even if he did know about my love for Dimitri.

Dimitri stood up straighter and opened the door. I watched him go with wonder. Dimitri. What _was_ he?

He was a fairy tale I could never read the ending of.

**hope you guys enjoyed! FINALLY! a longer chapter! :D plz fav, review, aa, sa, etc! I looooove them!**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

**Sorry for not uploading :/ these past few weeks have been crazy! parties, dances at school, homework and schoolwork :/, getting sick (still am D: but it's just a sore throat now) so yea, sorry about not uploading DD: But I hope you guys enjoya this chapter :D! plz review, AA, SA, all that stuffa!**

Wow. I'd always thought nothing was scarier than fighting my first couple strigoi. I mean, really, those little suckers were tough. But I had help then. Every time. And now... well, now it felt like everyone hated me (and not just in the normal, Oh-my-god-you're-all-out-to-get-me kind of way). I didn't know what to think of Dimitri anymore. Seriously, how does he eat so little and still feed all those split personalities? Beats me. And Liss... well, really, _I_ was mad at Lissa. She'd completely thrown _herself_ out to the sharks to protect me, when it should'be been me who'd done that. And then Stevie, I still didn't know his real name, had _agreed_ to it! Oh, come on! Do I never get a break, just hang out with Lissa with nobody trying to shop either of our heads off?

While I was thinking about the total unfairity of it all, I realized something. I didn't have a plan to save Lissa. I couldn't just barge in there and scream at some people (undead people) and hope they gave her up, could I? A girl could only dream. Nope, it's _never _easy. But anyway, I really had to think about this. I didn't exactly have an army of guardians or anything, and-wait. Holy crap! Duh! We're here to protect Liss! Of course I could call other badass guardians who could help me! And how could we not get Lissa back with a badass pack?

I'd just have to make a few calls. Starting with my mother.

I sat straight up and searching for my phone, seeing it on the bedside table. I grabbed it and flicked it open. Oh, wow. 152 text messages, 24 voice mails, and 32 picture mails. I went throught each, deleting the texts without even opening them. Except for one. It was from Adrian. I hesitated a second before opening it, though. It read:

**Hey. Hope to see you soon. I know how utterly devastated you are about me not being there. Call me if you need me (well, of course you always need me, but an emergency type way.)**

**Yours amazingly,**

**Adrian**

Huh. I hadn't talked to Adrian in so long, and I hadn't realized till now, but I missed him. Alot. I missed hearing his somewhat whitty remarks. I also kinda missed his endless patience sometimes. Well, why not call him? Maybe he could help me out with my never-ending problems. Besides, he probably didn't have alot to do at his place right now besides getting drunk. It kept him from going completely crazy, so I didn't really argue with him about that alot.

I dialed Adrians number, already having it memorized, and waited for him to anwser. It took a couple of rings before he anwsered, sober.

"Hello?" He asked bored. Clearly, he hadn't checked the caller ID.

"Hey," I said. "What's up?"

"Oh," Adrian anwsered, instantly perking up, "It's you. What had happened to that I am granted your lovely presence?"

I rolled my eyes. "Um... I need your help with something." My voice shook slightly, and of course he picked up on it.

"What's wrong, Rose? Is Lissa okay?" There was concern in his voice, and I felt better about telling this to him for some reason.

"It's horrible, Adrian! Strigoi took her, and I can't get her alone! There aren't enough guardians here to help her, and there's hardly any time to get enough here before they kill her, if they haven't already!" I felt tears well up. I'd been trying not to think of this earlier, but I had to now.

I heard Adrian sigh on the other end. "I'd say it's okay, but you already know it's not. Okay, Rose, breathe. First, can you sense her through the bond?"

I tried as hard as I could, but got nothing. We were probably too far away from eachother. "No!" My voice cracked.

"Okay, okay. Have you called your mom? She'll help best for this." He paused. "You know what? I'll call her right now. We'll both come there, okay, Rose?"

"Okay," I said in a small voice. "But, what about in the mean time? I can't tell if they've already...killed her, Adrian." I sniffled. "How can you two get here in time?"

"We'll contact other guardians," Adrian said tiredly, "We can get a jet and get there as quickly as possible. For now, just...just wait until we get there. Rose, it won't help anything if you go in alone. I can't lose you. No matter how tough you are, some of us arent as tough. I couldn't bare losing you."

Yeah, apparently neighter could Liss, I thought sadly.

"Anyway, I be there soon." He finished. "Don't do anything stupid until we get there."

"Me, Rose Hathaway, do something stupid?" I smiled through the tears.

"You're right, what was I thinking." Adrian laughed. "I'll be there as quick as possible, Rose. I love you."

"Love you too." I whispered, like it was a secret. Even if I could never have Dimitri, it still made me guilty about what we did.

I hadn't thought, until after he'd hung up, of how incredibly awkward it'll be with Adrian, Dimitri, and me. But still...

I really hoped Adrian got here soon. Waiting is _not_ easy.

**Hope ya liked :3 review, AA, SA, etc. PLZ! I loveloveLOVE them so much! **

**Um, one more kinda random thing... Mockingjay came out 2day :DDDD and I've been reading it while i was writing this... does anyone else LOVEEEE it? So far, it's AMAZING and it's nothing like I expected. I won't spoil tho :3**

**Any of you Hunger Games fans gonna get it today? Or if you've finished it, did ya like it?**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

**heya guys :) glad to hear you guys like the story :DD and i'll TRY to go slower with this story D: sorry. nyway hope you all enjoy!**

**BTW: wasn't the ending of Mockingjay sad? I cried so much in that book D: but it was also one of the best books i've read :D**

Sweat pouring down my face, I turned and drizzled the rest of my watter bottle into my mouth.

I'd been punching and kicking and karate-chopping the crap out of the punching bag for almost 2 hours. If I had to wait for Adrian and my Mom to get here, the least I could do was train. Not with Dimitri, of course, but by myself, in the local gym here in Russia. See? That's just the kind of good person I am. I take my anger out on inatable objects. I _could_ go around hitting everyone around me, but instead I punch the gym equipment. Lissa would be proud.

I casually took a look around me. No sign of anybody still. I kind of came before the gym was really open. But oh well. Good thing someone forgot to lock up. Some creeper could come here late at night.

I sighed. How long was it going to take them to get here. Adrian said he would come on a private jet. So why wasn't he here? Unless... no. I refuse to think that something like that could happen. It was impossible for the plane he'd come on to crash. I shouldn't think about anything like that. Ever. I wouldn't function right if I did.

Shaking my head, I turn and head towards the back door of the gym, the one I came through earlier.

Back at the Belikov's house, I took a quick shower, and then dig through boxes of cereal, hoping to find my favorite. I don't care what people say, cereal is great anytime, even at 1 o'clock. Unable to find the best cereal, I settle for froot loops.

sitting there on the couch, alone in the dark, I think through everything that's been going on in my life, ever since Dimitri's 'death'. I remember coming here, hoping to kill him, and instead finding Dimitri's old house, with his family. I remember how devastated they all were about the news, how horrible it was for me to tell them. Killing Dimitri, even as a strigoi, is probably one of the most horrible and cruelest things that has ever happened to me. Of course, then he gets spirit back, and then he hates , hates himself, but it's because of me mostly, and no way will I use logic to deny that. Most of our tangled and confusing relationship is now sad and mean and cruel and horrible and full of anger. It just goes to show you that what's most important in the world can be taken away just as quick as realizing it.

And then I think about Adrian. About our less complicated relationship. It's still complicated, just not as much as mine and Dimitri's (not that we really _have_ a relationship, because that would require two people actually wanting a relationship). Adrian, who has always flirted with me, always wanted a relationship between us. I'd thought that he would be a slightly crappy boyfriend, but, when I finally agreed to dating him, he turned out to be better then I would of ever believed possible.

I love him. That's simple. The really tough question, though, is, Who do I love more? To say Dimitri will only cause people pain and anger. To say Adrian will cause denial and confusion and more jumbled thoughts.

_I love them both_, I thought. _So much that I can't tell which love goes to who._

The only thing that keeps me screaming in frustration is knowing that one of the people I 'm frustrated about is sleeping upstairs. Along with other people who will probably be pissed at me for waking them up.

I sigh, figuring that I better go to sleep, that Adrian and my Mom and the others will be here shortly. Or maybe that why I don't want to sleep. We'll save Lissa soon. Hopefully. Tomorrow, Lissa will be saved.

Tomorrow I'll either die, live and save Lissa, or turn Strigoi. Most likely, though, I'll die.

**Hope you enjoyed! Sorry on the short chapter, too tired to write now D: but anyway plz review, fav, AA, SA, etc...**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

**D: cant remember the last time I've submitted anything on here DDDD: sorry guys! went 2 Myrtle Beach recently, and it was so osm! And went on a trip to Haiti to help out kids and feed children, stuff like that... any thats pretty much everything I've been up to these last couple months, other times I'm just too tired (cough lazy) to write C: but back now! Hope you enjoy!**

After a couple of minutes of just sitting there in the darkness, looking at nothing in particular, my eyes wandered to the big shelf in the corner of the Belikov's living room. I stared at Dimitri's books that had been precious to him when he was younger. It was hard to imagine Dimitri as a child, sitting in a chair and reading those books., enjoying himself even when times were hard (AKA: when hid dad was an asshole.) Too much time had passed since I'd seen him smile, or laugh, or act care-free, near me. Auctually, I rarely ever saw him _near _me at all.

I sighed in frustration. Why did I even care? What could make me so insane that I would ignore all the signs Dimitri was sending me to _go away?_

_Love,_ I thought. _Love may fade, but it could also become stronger. Dimitri's faded, mine became stronger._

/What a crazy, sucky mess. How did my life become a Soap Opera? If I thought high school relationships were tough, this was worse. Even though I was a teenager, I felt so much more older. Dimitri and Adrian, my mother, Lissa, anyone I ever talk to, really, make my world so much more complicated, putting me through so much more than most teenagers have to. Granted, my life would be pretty boring without the people in my life, and I loved mostly everyone in my life, but I'd be under so much less stress without all this crap. But, I did have to admit...I lived for this kind of stuff. Not in some kind of drama queen way... just in a different way. I couldn't explain it, not even to myself.

A couple hours passed while I was in thinking la-la land, and soon I could see the sun, staring me in the face. Huh. I wonder how those people who gain strength just from seeing the sun, a promise to another day, do it? God, they must be, like, super-freaks or something. No way can I do that. Props to them.

Knowing that Adrian was on his way here, and that we could go and get Liss soon, I was all hyped up, unable to sit still. To fix this, I went jogging for a bit. Good thing there was cold air blowing, 'cause otherwise I would of fell asleep right there.

Running felt good, even peaceful, I guess. I ran maybe a mile before my jitteryness faded out a little. I stopped running and walked. I looked at the sky, a light-grey now with pink off to the distance, and wondered what time it was now. Pobably around 6 or 7 o' clock. Come _on!_ How long has Lissa been captured? No, better question. How long till Lissa gets saved? I'm her guardian! Why ain't I whaling on Strigoi butt and kicking their asses into next week? Oh, right, because I'm stuck in this freaking stupid place unti-

While I'd been ranting in my head, I hadn't realized where I was going. I'd run past a couple of tall buildings, and, right outside their alleys, was a human. Dead. Not just any dead (not that there are any different kinds of dead) either. This was gruesome. Horrible. Horror-movie worthy. Completely sadistic. I covered my mouth with my hand. I'd tripped over a hand. A severed hand, auctually. I focused on that one fact, and not on the sight before me, consisting of broken bones, some auctually sticking out on the ground, bruises, severd pieces of human. I've seen alot of deaths, and I've always kept my stomach in times like these, but this... I ran to a dumpster in the alley and puked and puked. I don't know if I kept puking from the sight or the smell.

_How could someone just leave somebody like this? _I looked back at the body, disgusted. And then I saw it: a small bite mark. That was it. All that it took for me to go ballistic was the small to holes in the guy's (or girl's) neck. I would go into that horrible little hole and beat those other... creatures right now. _Right now._ I hate to say it, but _screw Adrian._ I'm not gonna let anyone get away with this. I don't even know this person, but I do know the monsters, and they've... they've got my best friend.

_I'll have to call someone to get this poor fella..._ But not right now, sadly. My best friend was more important. This guy was dead... and his/her killers were with Liss. Those monsters were probably doing these same things to her.

I had to run back to the dumpster to puke some more before I set off to go kill those things. If I'd ever thought that Strigoi were human, and I don't believe I have, then I was soo wrong.

Strigoi didn't have an ounce, a _pinch_ of humanity left in them.

While I was running, towards my best friend, I had a thought: _Dimitri was Strigoi once. What does that make him to me now?_

**Hope you liked! R and R! and fav, and everything ^^ and again sorry for being slow in writing and with a short chapter D:**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

**Hope you enjoy! plz review (!) AA SA etc..! :D**

Okay, so since most of you have picked up on my ability to charge in without thinking, and if you haven't, then, well... you're slow. Anyway, this was another one of those times, unfortunately. Hopefully this wasn't one of those times where my charging in is a _very _bad thing, causing more trouble. Hopefully. But thank god I had the guts to walk into death to save my friend- scratch that, my sister. I just hoped that Lissa was okay by the time I got there. Screw waiting around while nobody knows what's going on with her! I mean really, she's Vasilisa Dragomir for crying out loud! There should be about ten guardians _at least _here right now, saving her ass! Instead it was just me, hardly no weapons (I was scared that I might wake someone up if I got my weapons at the house, and what was I going to tell them? I needed one as a paperweight or something? Uh, no. Lame.) and I'd had no sleep. But, oh well. Worry about that later, because those were just minor setbacks right now.

I was running fast now to the where I'd been dragged to last time, hardly noticing other people who were just now getting out of their house to run, or walk their dogs, or drive, or whatever else early-bird people do. I wouldn't know what early-bird people do, since I am not one at all. I mean, it's alot like Yoga to me. Pointless and just makes you tired.

Anyways, as I was getting closer to the cave full of disgusting creatures and one teenage girl, I was starting to sense Liss through the bond, filling me with hope. Feeling her at least meant she was alive, right? And if she was alive, then, obviously, she wasn't dead.

_Lissa? Liss! You there?_

_H-Hey. _Came her almost-silent response_. _Relief flooded through me when she responded.

_Are you okay? I mean, you know, besides the shock and utter trauma you're probably feeling right now..._

She gave a weak laugh. _Oh, besides that... Well, just the usual stuff I feel when I'm kidknapped and held against my will somewhere where I can't see crap and my kidpnappers are dying to suck my blood... no pun intended._

I sighed. Sarcastic and making puns even when in a dangerous situation. That was my best friend,pretty tough and completely awesome.

I could sense her wondering what I was doing here, even though she already knew the anwser, already knew the trouble that was coming.

_I'm here to get you! _I thought uneccassarily. Well duh, she already knew that.

_No. Please, Rose, don't. Don't do this. _She begged.

_Why not?_ I countered, y_ou're worried that I'll die, right? How do you know that I won't save both of us? Come on! Have more faith in your Gaurdian, your best friend!_

_I do have faith in you! You know how much I do! I just... I just don't want you to... never mind. _She sighed, frustrated.

Sometimes Lissa could be so difficult. I'm not saying I'm a walk in the park either, though.

_Fine. I'll leave it alone for now. But right now you need to tell me how to get to you._

_Um... I, I don't know what part of the cave I'm in, and it's really dark..._

Now I sighed. _Okay then. I guess I'll just check every pathway till I find you._

_Be careful, Rose. _

_Aren't I always? _I allowed myself a brief smile before it faded and I quietly stepped into the dark cave and away from the rest of the world, away from Adrian and his help. _He'll probably be as angry as someone with a bedpan jammed up their ass._ But, oh well.I'd worry about that later.

_I mean it,_ she warned_, there's something wrong about this place, but... I can't really put my finger on it. It's just... off. Wow, I sound pretty vague, but I don't know how to explain it. Just be careful._

_Um, okay. Thanks Liss, I'll... keep an eye out._

I had a semi-random thought. What would happen if Lissa was turned into a Strigoi? My mind instantly flinched from the image, but I still wondered. Would the bond between us still be intact? Possibly. Could I ever tell if...she was still a Moroi? I just had the feeling that... Lissa wasn't herself right now. But, like she'd said, something was not right around here. You just get that vibe. Exactly like those girls that always gets killed in the horror movies because they walked away from the rest of the group to look at something. I bet they just got that _vibe._ And, great. Now I was imagining myself as that girl in my very own personal horror movie. Jeez.

Walking _extremely_ slowly, I walked in what was probably certain death. But I was so used to it now, it felt the same as walking into Wal-Mart.

**yay! this chapters auctually long... NOT. so sorry, I just can't write long chapters D: I try every time, but fail :/ oh well, hope you enjoyed anyways ^^ plz review! and AA! and SA! and fav! and...yeah.**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

**heya :D I just wanted to say one thing b4 I start de chappie... I'll probably add more fillers and TRY to make the chapters longer before I post... so they might come later (if they're longer) or faster if they're shorter D: I'm so sorry about my inability to write long chapters :/ anyways hope you enjoyyyy! AND I wanna take a bit of a poll.. I just wanna see who you guys want Rose to end up with n this FF( I think I know who I want to end her up with, but I wanna c if you guys think the same) SO just put an A for Adrian, and a D for dimitri! That's it! can't wait to see what u guys think! enjoy!**

As I cautiously made my way down the cave hallway, I tried to survey my surroundings and remember where everything was, just for future reference. There were hundreds of small tunnels branching off of the one I was going down. Great. Just make Hathaway's day that much freaking better! So now I could either look down all of these tunnels or pick one and hope it led to Lissa (which it probably wouldn't and I'd get lost.)

I stopped. I could hear quick footsteps coming from one of the tunnels I'd just passed. I turned around and went a little ways into one hallway, hoping that I wouldn't be seen.

I could definately _smell_ the Strigoi now. Death and decay, lovely.

Just as the strigoi was passing the entrance of my tunnel, I leaped out and tackled her to the ground, pinning her hands behind her head as I did so. She growled and tried to throw me off of her. I gritted my teeth and held on, determied not to lose. But, god, she was strong. Sure enough, within a few more seconds, I was the one who was pinned to the ground. The strigoi smiled wickedly, showing all her teeth. I wrinkled my nose at the smell of her breath.

"Jeez, ever heard of _breath mints?" _I asked, not caring that she could easliy snap my neck in less than a second. She probably would anyway. "I mean, really, I know you eat, like, garbage and blood all the time, but at least make yourself presentable once in a while."

She growled again before looking down at my neck. Oh, crap. I shouldn't have mentioned _blood_ and _eating_ in the same sentence. Damnmit.

"You're right," she said, surprising me, "I will eat garbage." And her teeth made their way to my throat, with me kicking and screaming.

Until I noticed that the girl was on fire.

"Agh!" She cried out, jumping away from me. I sat up quickly, wacthing her run around crazily, making it look like she had a fox tail. Aparently, this strigoi had never heard of stop, drop, and roll.

_Stupid bitch, _I thought as I realized how bad this situation had just been.

I kept watching the girl dance around, wondering how I hadn't noticed it before. Christian. Only he could put people on fire. I hated to admit it, but that fact scared me a little. Whcih is why I'm so glad we're kind of friends now.

I could hear his laughter down the hall coming closer. Only Christian could laugh at something this sadistic.

The strigoi was pretty much burnt out at this point, so I found it safe enough to aproach her. She still tried to get up ad slap me, though.

_Bring it on, bitch._

Christian cut in with his weird power thing, making the girl turn to ashes a few seconds later.

He turned to me. "So. Rose Hathaway, suddenly a damsel in distress."

I sighed. "It's free."

"What's free?"

"The slap I'm about to give you."

He smirked.

"Uh, so...what the hell are you doing here?" I asked, getting right to the point.

Now Christian sighed. "Adrian was telling your mom about what happened, and I wanted to tag along. He wasn't okay with it at first, but I proved to be useful with my powers."

"But where's Adrian? And my mom? Did he bring anyone else?" I spoke urgently, not sure whether anyone heard the whole scene just now. I pulled Christian farther down the tunnel.

"Adrian went straight to the Belikov's house to get Dimitri. Your mom's coming, I think. She said she had to do something else really quick, first. And nobody else came." He spoke quietly, catching on to my urgentness.

Oh, crap. I forgot about Dimitri. Oh, _crap!_ He's gonna be so mad when he finds out that I left without telling anyone. I was pretty sure that he was unaware that Adrian was coming, too. Dangit.

"Okay, let's..." I trailed off, unsure whether to wait for my mom, or go find Lissa.

"Go find Liss!" Christian said fiercely. "We don't know what Lissa's doing right now, and she's the reason we're here, right?" I nodded mutely. "So we'll find her first. And," he pulled something out of his pocket, "I stole this from your mom on the plane over here." In the very dim light, the blade of th stake Christian was holding still shined. He handed it to me, and I took it.

"So, I've got a weapon, whoo-hoo, but what about you? If we get separated, then..."

"Aren't you forgetting? Fire's pretty dangerous, and unlike your flimsy weapon, mine can't be taken away from me." He grinned while I glared.

"Fine. But be careful, we wouldn't want you to burn your eye out or anything." I turned, grinning, down the tunnel, not checking to see if Christian followed, since I was sure that he would.

I tried the bond again, seeing if I could find Lissa through this maze. I turned left and right through the tunnels, only getting more confused. God dammit!

Finally, finally, I turned to another tunnel, expecting it to be another dead-freaking-end, but was surprised when I saw Lissa there, chained to the wall by her ankle. She was sitting on the floor, and hope filled her bruised eyes and the bond when she saw me.

"Oh, god, Liss!" I rushed forward and grabbed her wrist, pulling her up. But she only crumpled back down to the floor, lying there and crying in pain.

"What's wrong?" Christian knelt beside her, listening to her response that was too quiet for me to hear.

I was beyond furious. Her face looked like a meat pie, her bones looked frial, everything about her screamed torture. How could someone do this to someone so pure? Lissa was one of the goodest, nicest people I know. Hell, she was the goodest, nicest peron on the _planet._ And they'd hurt her.

I gripped the stake in my hand so tight it's a wonder it didn't break.

"I'll _kill _them! I hate all of them! I can't _STAND _them!" I was ready to kick the wall, hardly even listening to Lissa trying to calm me down.

It's _not_ okay, Liss! They _hurt you!_ Aren't you angry at all?" I looked into the bond and found only fear and concern for me.

"Rose..." I didn't realize that Lissa was crying. And somehow that made me cry. How embarrasing in front of Christian, who was looking at me with wide eyes, like he'd never seen me go off.

I fell to my knees, and Lissa hugged me. I hugged her back, feeling my tension subside.

"It'll be okay," she promised me," we'll make it better. It'll be okay."

"Okay." Somehow, I kept my cool and didn't blow up again.

It hadn't really crossed my mind until later, but I was sure that Liss had used compulsion to get me to stop.

**Hope you liked :D It's a BIT longer this time, and it's kiinda dramatic (I think so anyway ^^ ) I LOVE all the reviews I've been getting, but I've noticed that I'm getting alot from the same people, which is great, but I'd like for people who don't usually review to review!everyone please review, AA, SA, fav, etc! AND I wanna take a bit of a poll.. I just wanna see who you guys want Rose to end up with( I think I know who I want to end her up with, but I wanna c if you guys think the same) SO just put an A for Adrian, and a D for dimitri! That's it! can't wait to see what u guys think!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Alright so this is the first chapter that I wrote for this adopted story and since it was nearly finished, there's about two more chapters after this one so here it is. I hope it is good and can't wait to see those reviews telling me about this chapter. So please READ AND REVIEW!**

**Disclaimer = I don't own Vampire Academy.**

**Chapter 14**

Looking back at Lissa, we knew that she needed help, and serious help for that matter. Helping her up would only cause pain for her. What had they done to her that would make her cry out in pain like that? Whatever they did to her, they would pay for that... at my hands.

Christian and I exchanged glances and looked at Lissa afterwards. She obviously wasn't fit to walk. Damn... it would be hard. Obviously they'd hurt her from the waist down and her face. Maybe even more. These Strigoi disgusted me to no end. My gaze fell on Christian once more. "Alright, Lissa can't walk and it pains her to be picked up but we have no choice. We're going to have to lift her to be able to bring her anywhere, especially out of here. So, seeing as I have the weapon in hand and you can easily burn these Strigoi with your mind, can you pick her up?" I asked and he nodded, looking at the chains.

"But how are we going to get those off?" Christian asked. Fire wouldn't burn these to nothing like ropes so it was either getting a key or something hard to damage it with, but smashing the chains with a rock would hurt Lissa further than she was, which was something we couldn't afford.

"Damn it... we'll need a key. But where are we—" Suddenly, nausea rolled through me. Oh no...

"Looking for this?" A voice said from behind us. Turning around with a small curse from my part, a Strigoi stood in front of the hall, enabling us to get out of our small tunnel. Luckily, they had placed a small light in the corner of the tunnel, just above Lissa's head, giving us an opportunity to see the Strigoi.

He was different from the one who had tortured me. Maybe they had killed Stevie off and got this new guy in charge. He was bald—which wasn't very attractive, considering they are already white skinned—and the red eyes pierced right into my soul. His smirk was also frightening, showing us a small display of his fangs. And he was holding the key to Lissa's bonds.

Not good.

How the hell would we get hold of those keys? Only one way: kill him before he killed us.

Still looking at the Strigoi, I whispered to Christian: "If I don't succeed, get Lissa out of here first."

"What?" He whispered in shock, dumbfounded that I would even suggest something. But he knew I was right. Lissa was more important than one guardian. She was the last of the Dragomirs and needed to live. But, of course, Christian tried to fight the idea. "I'm getting both of you out."

"You can't do that. Lissa's hurt and you think you can bring someone else with you? What if more Strigoi show up in a hurry? You'll be slow. So, if something happens, burn this guy and get her out first. Just stay here with her and I'll fend him off. I don't want to burn you out already so if things get really messed up, _then_ use your magic. Otherwise, get. Her. Out," I replied sternly, still keeping my gaze on the smirking Strigoi. By his look, he was the one that had hurt Lissa to that extent. Oh, he would pay with his life...

Christian didn't have the time to respond as I stood up and walked over to the Strigoi, standing a few feet in front of him. The light dimmed and his frame nearly faded and blended into the darkness as I shadowed him from the light, which advantaged him even more. Strigoi could easily see in the dark whereas dhampirs had more trouble adjusting.

"You'll have to get through me if you ever want to hurt her again," I replied coldly, eyeing him sternly, stake in hand and ready to use. Through the bond, I could feel Lissa's worry at my words and she tried to move but couldn't.

"Then you'll die and it'll be just as fun to play with you as I played with her," The Strigoi responded with a cold and chilling voice. The nausea that usually rolled through me at stayed and made me want to seriously barf. But that was normal when Strigoi were around.

"Over my dead body I'll let a Strigoi like you get the best of me," I said overconfidently and watched him lunge at me, key in hand. How stupid was this guy? I could easily knock the key out of his hand and let Christian get to it to free Lissa.

But as he lunged towards me, if I sidestepped, he'd get right to Lissa and Christian, which was what we'd been trying to avoid. And so, I had to take him full on. So, I tried to swipe at his face and kick him in the stomach, which sent him flying. But unfortunately, he had grabbed hold of my jeans and brought me with him. I'd tried and recover from the pull but the Strigoi easily rolled over and slammed me back first onto the ground, an arm snaked across my chest and holding me down and his fangs approached my neck. I held onto my stake and slammed it into the Strigoi's thigh, making him snarl in pain and release his hold on me slightly. But that gave me a small opening. Unfortunately, it wasn't to his heart. His body was pressed close to mine, trying to drink from me and it enabled me the touch to his heart.

So I'd had to go at it from a different direction, although the impact to the ground had made my back feel sore. Punching the Strigoi in the right temple made him fall slightly to the right, letting me get up. And luckily, he had dropped the key on the impact. Kneeling down quickly, I grabbed the key and threw it backwards towards Christian. But the Strigoi was fast. He kneeled and punched me square in the jaw, sending me backwards. That would be sore tomorrow. And then he lunged at my neck again. But he gave me an opening for his chest.

Slightly dazed from the backwards impact and the previous one, I grabbed hold of the stake and was about to plunge it in his heart but he had caught hold on my wrists, pushing me down so that the stake hovered about his chest but never touched it. This Strigoi was better than the other ones, probably older as well. Most Strigoi who had been either a dhampir before turning or had years of experience as a Strigoi were better fighters and knew how to avoid getting killed.

"You're good dhampir, I'll give you that much. But you'll soon die a meaningless death at my hands." And he was about to plunge his fangs in my neck when Lissa's voice resonated through the tunnel.

"NO!" She screamed, grabbing the Strigoi's attention momentarily and looked at her. But his grip on me hadn't changed. A cruel smile on his face lit up and, slamming my head once in the ground, he stood up. My vision blurred and the world seemed to spin around me. But I was still functioning. "Rose!" Lissa screamed, looking at me now. Christian had gotten the chains off of her but, as he supported her now in his arms, he couldn't do much. It was all up to me to finish this off. Christian knew that, which was why he wasn't using his fire powers.

But he was ready for that moment of need. The Strigoi advanced them and was close while I tried and stood up shakily. "Two Moroi and a weak dhampir... A perfect meal for the day." That's when he pushed me to my limits. Calling me weak was one thing that pushed me over the edge.

Just as he lunged and was about to get to Christian, I stood up and stood in between the Strigoi and the others. Of course, the Strigoi had seen it coming and swung his arm at me, throwing me aside but not before I plunged my stake in his chest, piercing his heart.

But that hadn't stopped him from throwing me aside. He had pushed me with the last of his strength and my head collided with the stone wall, the back of my head cracking slightly. Blacking out, the last thing I heard was Lissa's scream and saw the Strigoi fall dead before Christian and my best friend.

At least he wouldn't hurt her anymore.

**So what did you guys think? Was it good and followed well with brdi97's beginning of the story? Or bad and doesn't praise brdi97's beginning of the story? Or could be better? Let me know in some reviews please!**

**Bellacullenswan17**

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	15. Chapter 15

**Ok so this chapter might be really late but I wanted to get 'A friend's courage' done before doing anything else so now that it's done, I'm gonna try and finish this story since there are about three chapters left, maybe. We'll see how it goes. So now, just please READ AND REVIEW!**

**Disclaimer = I don't own Vampire Academy!**

**Chapter 15**

I woke up with a splitting headache and pain in parts of my body that I never imagined were possible. My mind seemed to spin in multiple directions, even in unconsciousness. So many things had happened and so many questions kept appearing in my mind. The last thing I remembered before passing out was killing that Strigoi and seeing Lissa scream something in Christian's arms. Had they made it out alright? Was I in fact dead? Were Lissa and Christian alright? What had happened in that cave after I blacked out?

So many questions to answer and so little time… And when my eyes opened slowly, there was one person that I saw and it was a small surprise. Normally, I would have figured that maybe Adrian or maybe even Dimitri would be by my bed, or maybe Viktoria, seeing as we had somewhat reconnected. I knew that Lissa couldn't be by my bedside because she was in much more pain than I was but who I saw next to me now surprised me.

It was Olena.

Turning my head over to her with a groan, she smiled ever so slightly at me and placed a wet hand towel on my forehead, stroking my hair once softly. "Good morning Rose. It's good to see your eyes open once more," She replied, wiping my forehead softly with the towel.

Closing my eyes slowly, it felt as though my head was being stabbed with thousands of needles at the pressure of the towel against my forehead. "How long have I been out…?" I asked, my voice a little hoarse when speaking.

Olena pulled her hand back and placed it on her lap, looking at me while placing the bowl of water and the towel on the side. "Nearly three days. You have quite the nasty head wound. You weren't responsive for the first few hours but you finally began to respond a little when your friend Adrian began healing you. Although he couldn't heal everything, he did the best he could," Olena explained, placing another blanket on top of me. A sudden question popped into my mind, making me sit up quickly and have a horrible rush of dizziness form in my vision, making me close my eyes slowly and place a shaky hand against my forehead. "Rose, you need to lie down."

"Where's Lissa…? And Christian… Where are they…? Are they alright…?" I asked, gripping the sheet with a wrapped up hand and began removing it slowly, trying to get to Lissa but Olena placed me back down on the bed, looking me deep in the eyes. "I need to help them…"

"They've already got help, honey. Your mother and Dimitri are with them. Christian didn't get one scratch on him but Lissa had some injuries. But she's alright, she's recovering quicker than you are Rose. Lissa's alright," Olena assured, stroking my arm ever so softly as she placed the blanket back over my lower body. How was she so sincere with me now? She seemed to have hated me before I left to go and get Lissa back from the Strigoi. What had changed her mind?

"Where are they…?" I asked slowly, closing my eyes to try and rid myself of this dizziness that clouded my vision.

"They're right across the hall, Rose, and they're alright. They're almost healed. Lissa seems to be better and Christian, as said before, doesn't have a scratch on him. He's staying by Lissa now and taking care of her," Olena explained, dipping the towel back in the bowl, squeezing the excess water from it and placing it softly on my forehead again, letting me lean back against the pillows to try and heal a little faster. But then again, that didn't seem to be an option at the moment. My head decided to take a little break now and make me stay in a bed for God knows how long. "You're the one who seems to have had the worst of things. A bruised jaw," Olena began explaining, running her fingertips slowly over my jaw, making me wince a little at the touch, "sprained wrist, cracked skull… All of this is according to Yeva. We haven't brought you to a doctor but she is fairly certain those are your injuries. You were lucky to have come out of there with simply a few of them."

Scoffing a little, I turned my head ever so slightly in her direction and looked her right in the eyes. "I've had worse…" was my short answer.

Olena looked at me worriedly for a few seconds before chuckling ever so slightly and taking the bowl of water from the nightstand and standing up slowly. "I will let you rest for now. If you'd like, I can have someone, or myself, come and check up on you in a while?" She asked, turning to look at me when she stood by the door handle.

I began shaking my head but suddenly considered the fact that they were really trying to help me; that they seemed to be forgetting what happened a few days ago. They were trying to help me instead of blaming me for letting Dimitri come back. They weren't mad anymore… Well, that's what it appeared to be. So, instead of shaking my head, I nodded slowly in her direction and said a simple: "Thank you… That'd be appreciated…" before Olena nodded with a small smile and walked out of the room, leaving me to my splitting headache and small confusion.

What had made them seem to like me now? Of course, the first time I had appeared in Russia, they had welcomed me with open arms and a few days ago, that had all seemed to have disappeared. They were furious with me and disappointed, especially Yeva—which is simply normal for her—but it still aggravated me. There was no reason for them to be angry with me when I had just saved their son from damnation. But now, now that I had just gone and risked my life—once again—to save someone that I cared for, they seemed to be all open arms again. It warmed my heart a little but confused me.

What had made them change so drastically in simply three days?

But the most important question, the one that burned at my heart even more, was this: why hadn't Dimitri come and tried to help me, or better yet save us? Was I really nothing to him anymore…?

That kiss we had shared before I somewhat foolishly went to find Lissa had meant something. There was still a large spark behind our kisses and I knew that he felt it as well. But why hadn't he even tried to come for me, if he knew that what had happened was so dangerous that I could have been killed along with Lissa and Christian?

It might be because he really does not care for me anymore… No matter. My heart still ached for him, even if his didn't. I had Adrian now but my heart always belonged to Dimitri, no matter what happened.

But… in the end, who would I choose?

**So what did you guys think? I know it's not my best work but I really did try and make it good. I've been at this for days, trying to make it right so I hope that I succeeded. Please let me know in some REVIEWS!**

**Mortal-v.a-twicharmed20**

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